First Idea

How can I get involved in surrealism? What demands do I have to make on the project?

Taking up abstract themes in which I do not see myself was not an option. Surrealism offers a lot of space, so I considered embodying myself, in an abstract way, in the composition. A message from me, through the composition, to the viewers of my project.

I thought of „freedom,“ „shedding of burden,“ „new beginning,“ „liberation,“ „redemption.“ I thought of something positive, motivating, something thought-provoking.

Let's go!

Concept

A roller coaster ride of emotions. That's how I would describe some phases of my life. Phases in which it is important to face challenges, learn from mistakes and emerge strengthened from crises. The burdens that accumulate on our shoulders during these phases have to be unloaded again. If this does not happen, we become mentally and physically weaker.

I know that I am not alone with such phases and that many people feel the same way. Therefore, my concept is that with the composition the viewers are stimulated, attentive and touched.

An abstraction of man, kept neutral, so that every person is addressed, or rather that everyone can find themselves in this composition. A glow from above, the darkness under the person. Large loads of stones that are thrown off. It makes the person lighter, makes him rise further.

And a keyhole?

When something weighs on us, we are facing a wall and we don't know where and how to go on, we like to fast forward and imagine the moment when the problems are already behind us. It is a look ahead. But it shouldn't stop there, it should motivate us to go on and give everything, so that it will be exactly this moment, at the end of the crisis, the problem, the challenge.

Preparations

What do I need for my composition?

Stones, yarn, a figure, a ledge and a bit of hot glue.

The light sources in the studio reduced from two, to one. Light was only to come from above. I knew that a lot of reworking would have to be done in Photoshop to make it believable.

In the first picture of the gallery, I noticed that it would be more advisable to attach the yarn directly to the figure in case it doesn't work out in post-processing. Small spoiler: It was a good decision!

Process

The pictures were done, so that it could go the next day in the photo pool. A work process followed, which I had never gone through before. In the beginning, there was only my figure with the yarn. The figure was the edge of my puzzle. Now it was a matter of adding the individual puzzle pieces correctly (stones, yarn, shadows, clouds). A very risky, yet fun workflow.

Why „risky“?

The composition was always in danger of looking „unrealistic“, „cheap“ or „wrong“. So my biggest concern was to make the composition seem as realistic as possible in surrealism.

Final Result

For the final touch, I added a vignette and shadows, so that even more depth is created in the image. Furthermore I rearranged the position of the stones on the right side to make it look better.

Now you can let the entire composition affect you.

Have fun! :)

Conclusion

What can I say?

It was a very intense week. On Monday, after discussing the research, the first ideas were presented. On Tuesday we were supposed to work out a concept and create a set-up plan for the photo studio. Wednesday was the day of the shoot, where we came together in teams of two or three to assist each other. Thursday was the final push, as the files had to be ready for printing between 4pm and 5pm. Friday it was just the final presentation of our project - thank god :D.

Wow! It was very intense, but also extremely fun. By using surrealism as a stylistic device for our compositions, this whole work was given extra creative space in which we were allowed to experiment!

In such a short time I have never done a photo project and therefore I must say that it was really enriching. Normally I photographed an overall composition, which was not greatly supplemented in the aftermath. This method of bringing a composition together piece by piece was really fun and allowed me to realize my idea.

Am I satisfied?

Definitely! While in the beginning the ideas for the implementation were a bit lacking and I had little hope during post-production, in the end it turned out to be a successful project. I was able to realize my idea and surprised myself in the sense that the final product looks like an illustration.